Emergency Response & Dance Movement Therapy (DMT)-Based Psychosocial Support During COVID-19 Pandemic & Amphan

OVERVIEW:

With the world-facing a never before hiatus owing to the raging pandemic, psychosocial distress was at its peak amongst the masses. Under such circumstances, both individuals as well as organizations across the world have come together to provide relief to people, guiding them to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The importance of mental wellbeing has been heightened with people undergoing extremes of anxiety and panic during this uncertain phase of despair. While some have been forced to fall back on their meagre life-savings to sustain themselves, their families, and other co-dependents, others have been victim to major cases of violent harassment, both mental as well sexual. Especially the atrocities inflicted upon women saw a major hike during this period.

Kolkata Sanved started conducting DMT-based psychosocial support sessions in government CCIs at Nadia, Maldah, and Murshidabad with 120 children, in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal.

We aim to provide the distressed with psychosocial support through a mix of both online and offline methods, to give participants a way of finding physical and mental wellbeing while in the CCI, while facilitating them with the tools to relax, stabilize their emotions and motivate themselves to move ahead during the pandemic.

Kolkata Sanved Emergency Support Program

The suddenness of the pandemic induced lockdown exposed many people to a financial crisis. Most of them were unprepared and had limited access to resources that would help them sustain themselves through this period.

Deeply moved by their dire straits, Kolkata Sanved proactively decided to organize fund-collections from willing donors to support these deeply distressed families with basic rations of rice, dal, oil, salt, turmeric powder, soap, detergent, and sanitary napkins. Distribution of Rapid Relief to the families of daily wage earners was made in collaboration with various NGOs.

Kolkata Sanved also works with these family members on their Mental Health through Dance Movement Therapy to ensure their wellbeing.

Emergency Support provided by Kolkata Sanved included the following:

Nutrition: Dry rations consisting of flattened rice, packet of biscuits, milk powder, sugar, mustard oil, pulse, soya chunk, and packet of salt
Menstrual Health: Sanitary Napkins for girls and women
COVID 19 precaution: Masks for the whole family, soap and detergent powder

District-Wise Emergency Response:

While the pandemic has been wreaking havoc across the world, Bengal faced another major calamity with super cyclone Amphan making landfall on the 20th of March, 2020, causing devastation throughout North and South 24 Parganas. Residents in these areas will possibly continue to suffer for the next 3-4 years due to the repercussions of the cyclone, including increased gender-based violence, human trafficking, loss of livelihood, education, and other socio-economic issues.

A major lesson that we learned from both the pandemic and the super cyclone was the urgent need for both psychosocial support as well as emergency response for the next 3-4 years in the least. Even though Kolkata Sanved does not normally work in disaster management, in the light of the devastation caused by the super cyclone, the organization, in collaboration with its collaborative partners in these regions, carried out crisis intervention within limits of constraint. After a thorough assessment and understanding of the current needs of the community, work was started on the emergency response.

Besides nutrition, health, and COVID-19 Hygiene kits comprising the following had been distributed as well-

Tarpaulin
Mosquito net
Safe Drinking water: Restore 19 defunct tube wells both in South and north 24 Parganas
Calcium Carbonate
Bleaching Powder and Phenyl

Besides this, Kolkata Sanved carried out extensive relief work in the affected areas including –

Psychosocial Support Extended Through DMT As COVID-19 Relief Program

Pandemic has proved to be a period of extreme uncertainty and turmoil both physically and mentally. Even for those who haven’t directly faced the brunt of financially, the mental block of being confined to a restricted lifestyle had affected a majority if the masses severely.

As mentioned above, cases gender based violence has seen a serious hike under such circumstances. It is to empower such people and extend psychosocial support that Kolkata Sanved has reached out to them with DMT. It helps harness the power of dance to heal, empower and transform individuals into active citizens and change–makers.

Kolkata Sanved started to conduct DMT-based psychosocial support sessions in government CCIs in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal. The districts covered under the program included –

-Nadia

-Maldah

-Murshidabad

It involved extending support to 120 children. We are seeking to give psychosocial support through a mix of online and in-person methods, in order to give participants a way of finding physical and mental wellbeing while in the CCI. Moreover, it also gives them the tools to relax, stabilizing their emotions and motivating them to move ahead during the pandemic.

Our Supporter–

The extensive relief work that Kolkata Sanved has been involved with throughout the pandemic would not have been possible without the constant support of our donors and supporters. To them, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for being there by us through this period of utmost crisis –

AparajeetaSanmarg
Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives
AWO International
Blossomy Project
Dalyan Foundation
Human Capability Foundation
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Target Charity
We Trust
Dr. Frank Hoffman
PatriziaPollaro
Sydney Skov
Jacob Berman
Marianne Eberhard-Kaechele
Martina Piff
Heinz Giesen
Martin Gronemann
Klaus Hoffman
Dr.PaqualisKekes
Jens Riese
Marc Wehning
Sahar Romani
AmrapaliMaitro
Nathalie P Stromsted
Grant Harold
Ankita Singh
Owen Metzger
Michael Balaban
Marin Roper
Melissa Ruibal
James Kruz
Kathleen Horn
Philip Trautman
Joy Smith
Cassidy DeMos
Janique L Robillard
Sophia Kruz
Sharon Chaiklin
Sara Soulmon
Geraldine Fobes
Margaret Baxter
Sarah Wiese
Vibha Singh